Fallen Giants

A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes, Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver, Yale University Press.

Jason ZaskyDec 03, 2008

It has been more than 50 years since a comprehensive history of Himalayan mountaineering was written, something of a surprise considering the ongoing popularity of high-altitude mountaineering books. In “Fallen Giants,” authors Maurice Isserman and Stewart Weaver—amateur climbers and professors of history—do a remarkable job of chronicling the history of climbing in the Himalaya, taking pains to include every significant expedition since the 1890s.

As one might expect, it’s a narrative dominated by failure. It wasn’t until 1950—when Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal climbed Annapurna—that anyone reached the summit of an 8,000-meter peak. In the six decades since, the region’s 13 other “eight-thousanders” have all been scaled many times, but often at great cost in terms of life and limb.

While “Fallen Giants” isn’t as accessible as, say, a best-seller like Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air,” it’s filled with interesting tidbits. Who knew that occultist Aleister Crowley was one of the first to make a try at K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. (Although Crowley didn’t succeed, he did manage to identify the route by which K2 would ultimately be climbed.) And who knew that Nanga Parbat—the world’s ninth-highest mountain and the fastest-rising eight-thousander—might one day surpass Mount Everest as our tallest peak.

Perhaps not surprisingly, “Fallen Giants” is a little light on details concerning well-documented climbs in the “age of extremes” (i.e., the last 20 years), and readers will certainly lament the absence of glossy, full-color photographs, which are an integral part of any contemporary mountaineering book. Otherwise, it’s difficult to find fault with this exceptionally well-written tome, a must-read for any fan of climbing literature.